A number of different kinds of bases and base anchors are in use and are known in the patent art. Most typically, those in use include a stake in the ground, with the top of the stake being below grade from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch. A female receptacle on the underside of each base fits over its stake. After each game, the bases are removed and the basepaths leveled by dragging equipment. Although anchors are known which have a top area which is large enough to make their being located fairly simple by poking a shovel in the dirt, most consist of a single square male stake about one inch across. The stakes at the first and third base locations are generally easy to find by measuring the distance from home plate. Finding such a stake at the second base location is another matter, however. When found, surrounding earth must be dug away from the stakes so that the mating receptacles on the underside of the base are unobstructed when placing the receptacles over the stakes. While most stakes are likely male members, some are female with the mating male part being on the base. Female stakes must be protected from entrance of dirt when the bases are removed. If not so protected, it becomes necessary to clean dirt from a one-inch hole in the female stake. This can be difficult and time consuming. Some female stakes have a hinged cover, while others have a plug inserted into the stake opening. Both such designs are subject to being contacted and snagged by the dragging equipment, causing the dirt covers to be yanked off, enabling dirt to get into the female openings and risking damage to the dragging equipment.
One problem with designs which consist of standard single male/female connections is that the torque or twisting load applied to a base, e.g., as when a player is sliding while "stealing" a base, can be quite severe. This torque is applied about a lever arm of a length approximately one-half of the width of a standard fifteen inch base when the sliding player's foot contacts an outside corner of the base. While most bases are made to withstand wear and tear as well as sliding torque, damage can and does occur to the attaching parts, often to the point where the bases must be replaced.
A further problem surrounds the various makeshift techniques of anchoring the stakes in their permanent positions in the basepaths. Oftentimes the stakes are fixed upright in large cans of concrete, holes dug for the cans and the cans buried, hopefully to the correct depth and with the stakes in their true vertical positions. Sometimes the stakes are merely driven into the ground with a sledge hammer.